Method, medium, and system for facilitating vehicle purchases

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an effective, user-friendly approach to help a buyer of a car, truck, boat, or other vehicle to get a firm quote from a dealer on a vehicle that the buyer wants, and is financially qualified for, without the hassle and time expense involved in traditional vehicle sales. Embodiments of the present disclosure also help link dealers with buyers who are pre-qualified and motivated to purchase a vehicle, thus helping to eliminate the wasted time, money, and opportunity costs dealers often devote to customers who are not interested in purchasing, and/or who do not financially qualify to purchase, a vehicle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional applicationSer. No. 14/064,726, entitled METHOD, MEDIUM, AND SYSTEM FORFACILITATING VEHICLE PURCHASES, filed Oct. 28, 2013, which is herebyincorporated by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Conventional methods for buying vehicles are often inefficient forvehicle dealers, unpleasant for buyers, and overly time consuming forboth parties. On one hand, vehicle dealers often devote considerabletime and resources to large numbers of customers who are not prepared topurchase a vehicle and/or who do not qualify for financing or leasing ofcertain vehicles. On the other hand, buyers are often uncomfortable with“high pressure” tactics employed by many salesmen. Both parties sufferfrom the sheer amount of time spent in negotiating terms of a sale orlease and preparing, reviewing, and signing the associated paperwork.

In recent years, the vehicle sales industry has attempted to takeadvantage of increasing willingness by consumers to purchase variousproducts and services over the Internet. Many new vehicle dealerships,for example, dedicate at least a portion of their staff to Internetadvertising, and to handling inquiries generated from the dealer'swebsite or the websites of manufacturers and other third parties. WhileInternet advertising has provided some benefit, many vehicle dealersstill end up devoting substantial amounts of time and resourcescontending with unqualified/unprepared buyers.

Embodiments of the present disclosure address these and other issues.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an effective,user-friendly approach to help a buyer of a car, truck, boat, or othervehicle to get a firm quote from a dealer on a vehicle that the buyerwants, and is financially qualified for, without the hassle and timeexpense involved in traditional vehicle sales. Embodiments of thepresent disclosure also help link dealers with buyers who arepre-qualified and motivated to purchase a vehicle, thus helping toeliminate the wasted time, money, and opportunity costs dealers oftendevote to customers who are not interested in purchasing, and/or who donot financially qualify to purchase, a vehicle.

A method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includesreceiving, by a computer system, information from a buyer that includes:financial information for the buyer; and one or more vehicle paymentparameters. The method further includes determining, by the computersystem and based on the financial information for the buyer and the oneor more vehicle payment parameters, a qualified vehicle payment amount;presenting, to the buyer, a list of a plurality of vehicles available tothe buyer within the qualified vehicle payment amount; receiving, by thecomputer system, a request from the buyer for a quote on a selectedvehicle from the plurality of vehicles; in response to receiving thequote request from the buyer, requesting, by the computer system, aquote on the selected vehicle from one or more dealers; receiving, bythe computer system, a quote on the selected vehicle from a respondingdealer from the one or more dealers; providing to the buyer, by thecomputer system, terms in the quote from the responding dealer;receiving an acceptance of the terms in the quote from the buyer; and inresponse to receiving acceptance of the quote from the buyer, providinga deal sheet to the buyer and the responding dealer that specifies theterms in the quote.

The present disclosure includes methods and apparatuses which performthese methods, including data processing systems which perform thesemethods, and computer readable media containing instructions that, whenexecuted by computing systems, cause the computing systems to performthese methods.

Other features will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and fromthe detailed description which follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a method according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 3 depict methods for providing purchase decisionassistance to a buyer according to various embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 4A depicts a method for determining a buyer qualification accordingto various embodiments of the disclosure.

FIGS. 4B and 4C depict exemplary data entry forms provided to a buyer.

FIG. 5A depicts another method for determining a buyer qualificationaccording to various embodiments of the disclosure;

FIGS. 5B and 5C depict exemplary data entry forms provided to a buyer.

FIGS. 6 and 7 depict exemplary decision aids generated for a buyer.

FIG. 8 depicts an exemplary vehicle presentation interface.

FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary data entry form provided to the buyer.

FIG. 10 depicts an exemplary decision aid generated for a buyer.

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate exemplary systems according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description and drawings are illustrative and are not tobe construed as limiting. Numerous specific details are described toprovide a thorough understanding. However, in certain instances, wellknown or conventional details are not described in order to avoidobscuring the description. References to one or an embodiment in thepresent disclosure are not necessarily references to the sameembodiment; and, such references mean at least one.

Reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic describedin connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodimentof the disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” invarious places in the specification are not necessarily all referring tothe same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodimentsmutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features aredescribed which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others.Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirementsfor some embodiments but not other embodiments.

Any combination and/or subset of the elements of the methods depictedherein may be practiced in any suitable order and any number of times,and may be practiced in conjunction with any suitable system, device,and/or process. The methods described and depicted herein can beimplemented in any suitable manner, such as through software operatingon one or more computer systems, such as the systems and devicesdepicted in FIGS. 11 and 12. The software may comprise computer-readableinstructions stored in a tangible computer-readable medium (such as thememory of a computer system) and can be executed by one or moreprocessors to perform the methods of various embodiments.

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary process according to various embodiments ofthe present disclosure. In FIG. 1, method 100 includes receiving buyerinformation (105), verifying the identity of the buyer (110),determining a qualified vehicle payment amount (115), presenting a listof vehicles to the buyer (120), receiving a request for a quote on avehicle from the buyer (125), requesting a quote from a dealer (130),receiving a quote from a responding dealer (135), analyzing quote terms(140), providing quote terms to the buyer (145), receiving buyeracceptance of quote terms (150), providing data sheets to the buyer andthe responding dealer (155), sending notifications (160), and chargingfees (165).

Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a web-based interfacethrough which a buyer can view information on vehicles and to obtain apayment amount for a lease, financed purchase, or cash purchase of avehicle for which the buyer qualifies. In the context of thisapplication, the “buyer” may be any individual, group of individuals, orbusiness entity seeking to buy or lease a vehicle, while a “dealer” maybe any individual, group of individuals, or business entity that owns avehicle for sale or lease, or otherwise holds rights to lease or buy avehicle (e.g., on behalf of a third party). Buyers and dealers mayinteract with systems implementing embodiments of the present disclosureusing a variety of computing devices, such as electronic devices 1112,1114, and 1116 in FIG. 11.

In one exemplary embodiment, a system (such as computer system 1102 inFIG. 11) receives information from the buyer (105) via a web interface.Any type of information may be received from the buyer in accordancewith embodiments of the present disclosure, including personal oridentification information (such as the buyer's name, age, socialsecurity number, driver's license number, and address), financialinformation (such as the buyer's weekly, monthly, or annual income;debts owed by the buyer; the buyer's payment history; and the buyer'scredit score), payment parameters (such as a monthly payment for a leaseor purchase of a vehicle; a duration of a lease period for a vehicle; aduration of a finance period for a purchase of a vehicle; and an amountof a down payment), and vehicle parameters (such as the make, model,year, mileage, trim, or other characteristics of a specific vehicle orgroup of vehicles the buyer is interested in buying or leasing.

In method 100, identification information supplied by the buyer is usedto verify the buyer's identity (110). A failure to identify the borrowermay result in any desired action, such as withholding furtherinformation or services from the buyer, requesting the buyer re-enterinformation or provide additional information, and/or alerting anauthority (such as the police or a credit reporting agency) that of thefailed identification verification.

The information from the buyer may be used to generate a qualifiedvehicle payment amount for the buyer (115). The qualified vehiclepayment amount may indicate the maximum amount the buyer is qualified tospend on: a monthly payment for the lease or purchase of a vehicle, adown payment on a lease or purchase of a vehicle, and/or a cash purchaseof a vehicle. The qualified vehicle payment amount may be calculatedbased on any desired criteria, such as a manufacturer's suggested retailprice (MSRP), factory incentives, and dealer's fees. Exemplary formulasfor calculating the qualified vehicle payment amount for financedpurchase and lease transactions are described in more detail below.

The qualified vehicle payment amount may be determined based onfinancial information for the buyer, as well as one or more vehiclepayment parameters. The qualified vehicle payment amount may also bedetermined based on a credit analysis of the buyer. Credit informationfor such an analysis may be provided by the buyer or retrieved from anaccredited credit reporting agency (such as EQUIFAX) in response to thebuyer giving approval to do so.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may present a list of vehicles(120) to the buyer that are within the qualified vehicle payment amountdetermined for the buyer, as well as any other vehicle parameters and/orvehicle payment parameters provided by the buyer, while excludingvehicles that do not fit these criteria. For example, a buyer mayindicate he/she wishes to lease a 2012 (or newer) HONDA ACCORD having ablue exterior and fewer than 20,000 miles, and the qualified vehiclepayment amount for the buyer is determined to be a monthly lease paymentof $400 less. The list of vehicles presented to the buyer may theninclude only blue HONDA ACCORDs with fewer than 20,000 miles and thatare available to lease for $400 or less per month. Embodiments of thepresent disclosure may allow the buyer to input additional informationand/or to adjust existing information, such as vehicle paymentparameters (e.g., the amount of the monthly payment) and the vehicleparameters (e.g., the color of the exterior), to modify the list ofvehicles presented.

The list of vehicles presented to the buyer may include references tospecific vehicles, or to a group of related vehicles. For example, adealer may have four cars having the identical or near-identical make,model, and year. In such a case, an entry in the list of vehicles mayrefer to all four cars.

The buyer may request a quote (125) for one or more vehicles selectedfrom the list. In response to the quote request for the buyer, systemsimplementing embodiments of the present disclosure can automaticallyrequest quote(s) on the vehicle from one or more dealers (130). Forexample, in situations such as the case above, where an entry in thelist refers to multiple vehicles (potentially owned by multipledealers), systems of the present disclosure may request quotes from eachof the dealers. In other cases, where the buyer's request relates to asingle vehicle (e.g., a specific new or used car), the request may besent only to the dealer advertising that specific car. Alternatively,the quote request may be sent to all dealers having cars having somedegree of similarly to the requested car. The buyer may be given theoption to restrict quotes to a specific vehicle, or to accept quotesfrom multiple dealers and/or quotes relating to vehicles other than thevehicle selected by the buyer (e.g., vehicles similar in some aspect tothe vehicle selected by the buyer).

The request for a quote on the selected vehicle may be sent to a dealeralong with any desired information, such as the buyer's credit score (orother measure of the buyer's credit worthiness), vehicle paymentparameters (e.g., the buyer's desired down payment and monthly payment),and/or vehicle parameters. Other information, such whether the buyerwishes to trade in another vehicle as part of a lease or purchase of theselected vehicle, as well as some or all of the information regardingthe trade-in vehicle provided by the buyer (e.g., make, model, year,mileage, condition), may also be provided to the dealer.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a listing, to alldealers to whom the quote was sent, with information regarding quotessent by other dealers. This list may be rank-ordered to allow a dealerto see where the dealer's quote ranks among those from other dealers.This list may omit the names of the dealers, their addresses, and otherinformation that could be used to identify the dealers to maintain theanonymity of each participating dealer. Likewise, the quote request sentto each dealer may omit any information that could be used to identifythe buyer, thereby maintaining the anonymity of the buyer. Maintainingthe anonymity by the embodiments of the present disclosure may provide anumber of advantages, including preventing dealers from pursuing buyerswho do not wish to be contacted by the dealer, and vice versa, therebygiving comfort and security to the buyer, and helping the dealer toavoid spending resources on buyers who are unlikely to buy, or who donot qualify to buy, a vehicle from the dealer. Additionally, keeping theidentity of dealers confidential helps to eliminate bidding conflictswith other dealers, as well as buyers shopping for better deals fromquoting dealers.

Some or all of the dealers to whom the quote request was sent mayrespond with a quote on the selected vehicle(s) (135). In variousembodiments, dealers may provide input to a computer system implementingmethods of the present disclosure to configure the types of quotes thatare sent to the dealer, such as based on: a minimum credit score of thebuyer, a maximum distance from the buyer to the dealer, whether or notthe buyer has a trade-in vehicle, whether the dealer has the selectedvehicle in stock or must order the vehicle from the manufacturer, or anyother desired criteria. The quote received from the dealer (135) mayinclude a vehicle identification number associated with the selectedvehicle, pricing and other terms for the lease or purchase of thevehicle, an indication of the availability of the vehicle (i.e., whetherthe dealer has the vehicle on-hand or must order the vehicle from themanufacturer), as well as any other desired information.

In various embodiments, vehicles in the list of vehicles presented tothe buyer may be restricted to those vehicles associated with dealerswho have previously agreed to honor the quotes they send (135) inresponse to quote requests (130). In this manner, embodiments of thepresent disclosure help assure the buyer that, should he/she accept thequote terms from a dealer, the quote will be honored. Among otherthings, this helps give the buyer confidence in using the system of thepresent disclosure, and also helps to eliminate a common tactic used inconventional vehicle sales known as “bait and switch,” where the buyergoes to a dealership expecting to purchase an advertised vehicle, onlyto find out the advertised vehicle has been sold and is then pressuredto lease or purchase another (usually higher-priced) vehicle.

Embodiments of the present disclosure analyze the terms and informationin the quote from each dealer (140), and provide some or all of theterms in the quote to the buyer (145). As described above, informationthat could be used to identify the dealer can be withheld from the buyerto maintain the anonymity of the dealer. Additionally, the terms andinformation in each dealer quote may be analyzed for any desiredpurpose, such as to verify the quote matches the quote request or othercriteria (such as a maximum distance the buyer is willing to travel tothe dealer) provided by the buyer, to identify errors in the quote, orfor other reasons. In some exemplary embodiments, multiple quotes fromdifferent dealers may be analyzed to determine which quotes are mostbeneficial to the buyer, and the terms of such quotes presented to thebuyer in order, with the most beneficial quote terms presented first,the next-most beneficial terms presented second, and so on.

Determining the advantageousness of a quote may be based on any desiredcriteria, such as a percentage discount from a manufacturer's suggestedretail price for the selected vehicle offered by a dealer; a level ofsimilarity between the selected vehicle and a vehicle from a dealer; anavailability of the selected vehicle from a dealer; and a financialvalue associated with an offer from a dealer, the offer including one ormore of: a financed purchase of the selected vehicle, a lease of theselected vehicle, and a cash purchase of the selected vehicle. Suchcriteria may be analyzed for each quote and the quotes compared based onthe criteria. The criteria may be weighted in any suitable manner, suchas based on input from the buyer.

The buyer may indicate acceptance of one or more sets of quote terms(150). The buyer may indicate such acceptance in any suitable manner,such as by digitally signing a form via a web interface. In someembodiments, the buyer may accept some terms of a quote, but ask forother terms to be revised, in which case the request to revise thequotes is sent back to the dealer for acceptance of the revision,rejection of the revisions, cancellation of the quote, or acounter-proposal regarding the disputed terms by the dealer.

Upon acceptance of the quote terms by the buyer (150), a deal sheetspecifying the terms offered by the responding dealer in the quote, andagreed-to by the buyer, are provided to both the dealer and the buyer(155). In some embodiments, prior to the deal sheet being provided, theresponding dealer and/or the buyer may be asked to provide verificationthat they wish to proceed with the deal under the terms accepted by thebuyer. Upon receiving such verification, the deal sheets are provided toeach party. Failure to receive such verification from either partywithin a predetermined period of time may cancel the deal or causeembodiments of the disclosure to prompt either party for further input.

In addition to the terms agreed to by the dealer and the buyer, the dealsheet may include any other desired information. For example, inembodiments where the identification of the buyer and/or dealer isprotected (e.g., by withholding information that would identify thebuyer from the dealer and vice versa) the deal sheet may detail thecontact information of the buyer and the dealer so that they cancomplete the transaction for the vehicle. The deal sheet may alsoinclude a description of the specific vehicle being sold or leased(e.g., by identifying the vehicle's unique identification number) aswell as a unique certificate number generated by the system implementingembodiments of the disclosure to identify the transaction between thebuyer and the dealer.

Various notifications may be sent (160) to the buyer and/or dealers toconvey various information. For example, a buyer may be sent anotification to alert the buyer that a newly-advertised vehicle matchingcriteria previously-searched-for by the buyer has been added to thevehicle database from which the list of vehicles is compiled.Additionally, the buyer may be sent a notification if a dealer declines(or fails to respond to) verification of the terms accepted by thebuyer.

Notifications to dealers may also be provided, such as a notification todealers providing quotes that are not accepted by the buyer. Such anotification may include information regarding where the rejecteddealer's quote ranked among the quotes from either dealers (includinghow each specific portion of the quote ranked, if desired), and may bepresented graphically (e.g., using graphs and charts).

Embodiments of the disclosure may charge one or more fees (165) to thebuyer, seller, and/or a third party. For example, the buyer may becharged a fee to generate the buyer's qualified vehicle payment amount,and/or the dealer may be charged a fee when a quote request sent to thedealer and/or when a deal sheet specifying agreement between the buyerand the dealer is delivered.

FIG. 2A illustrates an exemplary method for iteratively providingvehicle purchase decision assistance to a buyer. As shown, method 200includes determining a buyer qualification (e.g., the qualified vehiclepayment amount) based on information related to the buyer (e.g.,received from the buyer as described above) (201). Method 200 furtherincludes filtering a list of vehicles from an electronic database ofvehicles (202) based on search criteria that may include the determinedbuyer qualification as well as other desired criteria, such as vehicleparameters (e.g. vehicle make/model/year, vehicle trim packages, etc.)and vehicle payment parameters (e.g., financing and leasing optionsavailable to the buyer). The list of vehicles may include any number ofvehicles, and is presented to the buyer (203) according to a set ofpresentation criteria, which can be set from default criteria orobtained from the buyer. The list of vehicles can be presented with aqualification indication as to whether the vehicles can be leased orfinanced according to the buyer qualification, as described with regardsto FIG. 8 below.

Method 200 further includes obtaining terms (204) for a vehicle selectedby the buyer from the list of vehicles. The terms may be obtained in anydesired manner, including as described with reference to steps 125-150in FIG. 1, above. The buyer may revise search criteria (206), which mayresult in a different list of vehicles being identified (202) andpresented (203) to the buyer. In one exemplary embodiment, when a buyerrevises search criteria for the vehicles (206), the terms may beobtained (204) again so as to update the qualification indication to thebuyer.

A purchase decision aid is generated for the buyer (205) so as to permitthe buyer to purchase or lease the selected vehicle according to theobtained terms. The purchase decision aid can be generated in the formof an electronic or hardcopy document to assist in the buyer in making apurchase decision. In one embodiment, the purchase decision aid can be adeal sheet (see above) or other certificate documenting the verifiedcredit rating of the buyer, which can be used by the buyer to purchaseor lease the vehicle from a dealer. In another embodiment, the purchasedecision aid can be an informational document, which can include all ofvehicle information, including trim and buyer qualification determinedfrom an estimated personal credit rating.

As shown in FIG. 2B, step 202 of FIG. 2A can be performed as a sequenceof three filtering steps 202 a, 202 b, and 202 c. According to otherembodiments, the step 202 can include a permutation sequence of thethree steps 202 a, 202 b, and 202 c, in which the step 202 a isperformed after one or both of steps 202 b and 202 c. According to oneembodiment, filtering step 202 a can be a step of filtering vehiclesaccording to whether the buyer can qualify for a financing or leasingoption. Filtering step 202 b can be a step of filtering vehiclesaccording to whether the vehicle satisfies a set of buyer specifiedvehicle criteria. Filtering step 202 c, meanwhile, can be a step offiltering vehicles according to whether the vehicle can satisfy a set ofbuyer specified trim criteria. According to one embodiment, filteredvehicles from each of the steps 202 a, 202 b, and 202 c can be presentedto the buyer.

The sequential order of the steps 202 a, 202 b, and 202 c may also bepermuted such that the filtering step 202 a can be performed between thefiltering step 202 b and the filtering step 202 c, or the filtering step202 a can be performed after both filtering steps 202 b and 202 c. Eachof the filtering steps 202 a, 202 b, and 202 c can be performed tofurther filter a previously filtered set of vehicles. Each of thefiltering steps 202 a, 202 b and 202 c can be performed withoutperforming the other filtering steps.

Another exemplary method 300 is depicted in FIG. 3. In this example, theresulting list of vehicles from the filtering steps 320, 323, and 327are presented in steps 321, 324, and 328, and the buyer is permitted torevise presentation criteria for each of the filtering steps in steps320 a, 325, and 329.

In step 310, the buyer qualification is determined based on a buyercredit rating and a set of personal information regarding the buyer.Method 300 can provide a purchase decision aid (e.g, electronic orhardcopy document or certificate) based on verified information (e.g.,from a credit report retrieved from a credit agency) as described withreference to FIG. 5A below, or based on the buyer's own stated, butunverified, personal information and credit rating as described in thenext paragraphs.

In step 320, the vehicles from the electronic database are filteredaccording to the determined qualification of the buyer and, in step 321,the filtered vehicles are presented to the buyer. A revised set ofstated financial information may also be obtained from the buyer in step320 a. As such, the buyer can be provided with a simulation in which thebuyer can state a hypothetical credit rating and obtain a simulated setof filtered vehicle that correspond to the hypothetical credit rating.This simulated set of vehicle results can be useful when the buyer cantake steps to improve his or her personal crediting rating by, forexample, paying down outstanding debts.

Method 300 further includes a step 322 for obtaining a set ofbuyer-selected vehicle criteria, a step 323 for filtering the vehicleaccording to the buyer-selected vehicle criteria, and a step 324 fordisplaying the vehicles filtered in step 323. Method 300 furtherincludes a step 325 for obtaining a revised set of vehicle criteria fromthe buyer so as to cause steps 323 and 324 to be performed again toprovide the buyer with a revised set of filtered vehicles. Step 324 canpermit the buyer to return to step 320 a in order to obtain revisedfinancial information.

Method 300 further includes a step 326 for obtaining a set ofbuyer-selected trim criteria, a step 327 for filtering the vehicleaccording to the buyer-selected trim criteria, and a step 328 fordisplaying the vehicles filtered in step 327. Method 300 furtherincludes a step 329 for obtaining a revised set of trim criteria fromthe buyer, so as to cause steps 327 and 328 to be performed again toprovide the buyer with a revised set of filtered vehicles. In oneembodiment, step 328 can permit the buyer to return to steps 320 a or325, to obtain revised financial information, or vehicle criteria,respectively.

Method 300 further includes a step 330 for obtaining a set of terms fora buyer-selected vehicle from the filtered vehicles. Using the obtainedterms, method 300 can includes a step 340 for generating a purchasedecision aid, a document that, for example, provides the buyer with aset of information including the buyer-selected vehicle and trimcriteria, the estimated credit rating, and the obtained terms. Thedocument can be generated to further include information relating to afiltered list of one or more vehicles that satisfied the searchcriteria. Method 300 includes step 342 for outputting the generatedestimate document. The generated estimate documents can be output in theform of a printed document, as well as in the form of an electronicallyshareable document, e.g. a PDF document.

Alternatively, it should be appreciated that method 300 can also allowthe buyer to request on-line quotes (i.e., terms for the selectedvehicle) from participating dealers after step 330, based on the buyerqualification data. In such an approach, the buyer may be able to obtainfrom multiple dealers financing fees, down payment amount, delivery feesand other information necessary to allow the buyer to select the dealerwith the terms that best suits the buyer's situation to complete anon-line purchase process. This, of course, may be subject to a finalunderwriting step. Once the on-line quotes are provided and the selectedquote has been chosen, a deal sheet with the terms from the selecteddealer can be memorialized on a document, similar to step 340. It shouldbe noted that step 340 generates a purchase decision aid document wherethe buyer can use to do the final negotiation with the dealer, thedocument generated in connection with the on-line quote process has thefinal terms from the selected dealer that allows the buyer to purchasethe vehicle at those memorialized terms. The document can then be outputin the form of a printed document or in an electronically shareabledocument, such as that in step 342 above.

Step 310 for determining a buyer qualification from buyer statedpersonal information is shown in further detail in FIG. 4A. As shown,step 310 can further include a step 410 for obtaining a stated creditrating and a set of personal information from the buyer. According toone embodiment, a data entry form, as shown in FIG. 4B, is provided tothe buyer on an electronic device to obtain a buyer stated credit score,a yearly income, a yearly debt, a total down payment, and a zip code.From the buyer stated information, step 310 may further include a step420 for calculating a plurality of buyer credit worthiness indicators,including a Gross Debt to Income (GDI) ratio and a Gross Payment toIncome (GPI) ratio. According to one embodiment, the step 310 canfurther include a step 430 for determining, for the buyers based on thecalculated GDI and GPI ratios, a plurality of loan qualificationcriteria including one or more of a maximum advance amount, a minimumfinance amount, a money factor, and an over mileage charge.

According to one embodiment, step 310 for determining a qualificationfor the buyer includes calculating one or both of a leasingqualification and a financing qualification. According to oneembodiment, the leasing qualification can be calculated according to thefollowing formula:

${{Monthly}\mspace{14mu}{Payment}} = {\left( {\left( {{CapCost} - {CapCostReduction} + {Residual} - {{rebates}\mspace{14mu}{and}\mspace{14mu}{incentives}}} \right)*{MoneyFactor}} \right) + \left( \frac{\begin{matrix}{{CapCost} - {CapCostReduction} -} \\{{Residual} - {{rebates}{\mspace{11mu}\;}{and}\mspace{14mu}{incentives}}}\end{matrix}}{Term} \right)}$

And the financing qualification can be calculated according to thefollowing formula:

${{Monthly}\mspace{14mu}{Payment}} = \frac{\left( {{MSRP} - {DownPayment} - {{rebates}\mspace{14mu}{and}{\mspace{11mu}\;}{incentives}}} \right)*\left( \frac{Rate}{12} \right)}{1 - \left( {1 + \left( \frac{Rate}{12} \right)} \right)^{- {Term}}}$${MaxMonthGPI} = {{GPIRatio}*\left( \frac{StatedIncome}{12} \right)}$${MaxMonthGDI} = {{GDIRatio}*\left( \frac{StatedIncome}{12} \right)}$

Wherein the Rate is a loan repayment rate determined according to thebuyer credit rating.

According to one embodiment, in step 320 a, a revised data entry form asshown in FIG. 4C is provided to the buyer on the electronic device, inorder to obtain a revised set of personal information from the buyer. Inparticular, the buyer can optionally revise the credit score, yearlyincome, yearly debt, and zip code entries. The buyer can optionallyrevise the down payment amount, leasing term (duration), and miles peryear, in case of a leasing arrangement. Also, the buyer can optionallyrevise the down payment and financing term (duration), in case of afinancing arrangement.

According to one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, a decision aid can begenerated from buyer stated personal information. In variousembodiments, when the buyer credit rating is not yet verified thegenerated decision aid may be labeled an “informational document” thatdoes not contain terms that are necessarily agreed to by any particulardealer.

According to another embodiment, method 300 can provide a purchasedecision aid when the buyer provides personal information from which averified credit score can be obtained from a credit reporting serviceprovider. As such, method 300 can include a step 310 for determiningbuyer qualification based on personal information from the buyer. Step310 is shown in further detail in FIG. 5A. As shown in FIG. 5A, step 310can include a step 510 for obtaining personal information from the buyerso as to permit buyer identification to be verified. According to oneembodiment, the data entry form shown in FIG. 5B can be provided to thebuyer on the electronic device to collect, among other information,buyer name, address, date of birth, social security number, yearlyincome, down payment, and employment information from the buyer. Thecollected information in step 520 can be used to verify the buyeridentity and in step 530 to obtain verified credit rating for buyer froma third party credit reporting agency or service provider, such asEQUIFAX, TRANSUNION, and EXPERIAN. In one embodiment, the personalinformation collected from the buyer can be transmitted to the creditreporting service provider in order to generate a set of identityverification questions. The identity verification questions can beprovided to the buyer on the electronic device, as shown in FIG. 5C,such that buyer is permitted to provide answers to the identityverification questions in order to proof the buyer's identity. Otheridentity verification methods can be used. For example, a two-factorsecurity token can be used to authenticate the buyer's identity.

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary page of a decision aid. In this example, thedecision aid is a dated certificate that indicates to the buyer that theterms contained in the certificate are guaranteed by a participatingdealer (i.e., the participating dealer will lease or sell the vehicle tothe buyer based on the terms). As shown in FIG. 7, the generated firstpage can include a date of certification, on which the verification withthe participating dealer is performed, and a date of expiration, onwhich the guarantee of terms will expire.

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary web page for presenting a list of vehicles tothe buyer. In this example, two vehicles are shown together on the samescreen to allow the buyer to easily compare information associated witheach vehicle. As shown, a qualification indication (“QUALIFIED PAYMENTCERTIFICATE”) is provided below the vehicle information for the topvehicle, while a second indication (“WE ARE SORRY—YOU DO NOT QUALIFY”)is shown below the information for the bottom vehicle. This indicatesthe buyer is qualified for the respective lease and financing termsshown for the top vehicle, according to the buyer qualification, but notfor the terms for the bottom vehicle.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary data entry form that may be provided tothe buyer for selection of one or more vehicle parameters, particularlya detailed trim package for a selected vehicle. In this example, whenthe buyer selects one or more trim package options, the lease paymentamount and a finance payment amount on the left side of the page areautomatically updated according to the qualification calculationsdiscussed above.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary decision aid in the form of a qualifiedpayment certificate (also referred to above as a deal sheet). In thisexample, the certificate includes calculated lease and financing termsbased from the MSRP of a selected vehicle received from one or moredealers and agree-to by the buyer. As described above, the terms offeredby the dealer, and agreed to by the dealer, can be re-verified withparticipating dealers and the buyer prior to issuing the certificate. Assuch, the certificate can represent a guaranteed price for a particlevehicle selected by the buyer.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an exemplary system 1100 that may be usedin conjunction with various embodiments of the present disclosure.System 1100 includes computer system 1102, database 1106, network 1108,remote information system 1110, and devices 1112, 1114, and 1116. Inthis example, a decision assistance software program 1104 operates oncomputer system 1102. The decision assistance software program mayimplement some or all of the functionality of the methods describedabove.

Electronic devices 1112, 1114, and 1116 may be, or include, a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, a mobile subscriber communication device,a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer,and/or other electronic device. Devices 1112, 1114, and 1116 areoperated by users 1122, 1124, and 1126, respectively, who may be buyersand/or sellers interfacing with computer system 1102 as described above.

FIG. 12 depicts a functional block diagram of computer system 1102 shownin FIG. 11. Computer system 1102 includes a central processing unit(CPU) 1202, a memory 1204, and an interconnect bus 1206. The CPU 1202may include a single microprocessor or a plurality of microprocessorsfor configuring computer system 1102 as a multi-processor system. Thememory 1204 illustratively includes a main memory and a read onlymemory. The computer 1102 also includes the mass storage device 1208having, for example, various disk drives, tape drives, etc. The mainmemory 1204 also includes dynamic random access memory (DRAM) andhigh-speed cache memory. In operation and use, the main memory 1204stores at least portions of instructions and data for execution by theCPU 1202.

The mass storage 1208 may include one or more magnetic disk or tapedrives or optical disk drives, for storing data and instructions for useby the CPU 1202. At least one component of the mass storage system 1208,preferably in the form of a disk drive or tape drive, stores thedatabase used for providing the decision assistance of system 1100 ofthe present invention. The mass storage system 1208 may also include oneor more drives for various portable media, such as a floppy disk, acompact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), or an integrated circuitnon-volatile memory adapter (i.e. PC-MCIA adapter) to input and outputdata and code to and from the computer system 1102.

The computer system 1102 may also include one or more input/outputinterfaces for communications, shown by way of example, as interface1210 for data communications via the network 1108. The data interface1210 may be a modem, an Ethernet card or any other suitable datacommunications device. To provide the functions of a computer system1102, the data interface 1210 may provide a link to network 1108.

The network 1108 may include any electronic communications system ormethod. Communication among components operating in conjunction withembodiments of the present disclosure may be performed using anysuitable communication method, such as, for example, a telephonenetwork, an extranet, an intranet, the Internet, point of interactiondevice (point of sale device, personal digital assistant (e.g., iPhone®,Palm Pilot®, Blackberry®), cellular phone, kiosk, etc.), onlinecommunications, satellite communications, off-line communications,wireless communications, transponder communications, local area network(LAN), wide area network (WAN), virtual private network (VPN), networkedor linked devices, keyboard, mouse and/or any suitable communication ordata input modality. Systems and devices of the present disclosure mayutilize TCP/IP communications protocols as well as IPX, Appletalk, IP-6,NetBIOS, OSI, any tunneling protocol (e.g. IPsec, SSH), or any number ofexisting or future protocols.

The computer system 1102 also includes suitable input/output ports ormay use the interconnect bus 1206 for interconnection with a localdisplay 1216 and keyboard 1214 or the like serving as a local userinterface for programming and/or data entry, retrieval, or manipulationpurposes. Alternatively, server operations personnel may interact withthe system 1102 for controlling and/or programming the system fromremote terminal devices via the network 1212.

The computer system 1102 may run a variety of application programs andstore associated data in a database of mass storage system 1208. One ormore such applications may enable the receipt and delivery of messagesto enable operation as a server, for implementing server functionsrelating to providing purchase decision assistance using application1104 of FIG. 11.

While some embodiments can be implemented in fully functioning computersand computer systems, various embodiments are capable of beingdistributed as a computing product in a variety of forms and are capableof being applied regardless of the particular type of machine orcomputer-readable media used to actually effect the distribution.

A machine readable medium can be used to store software and data whichwhen executed by a data processing system causes the system to performvarious methods. The executable software and data may be stored invarious places including for example ROM, volatile RAM, non-volatilememory and/or cache. Portions of this software and/or data may be storedin any one of these storage devices. Further, the data and instructionscan be obtained from centralized servers or peer to peer networks.Different portions of the data and instructions can be obtained fromdifferent centralized servers and/or peer to peer networks at differenttimes and in different communication sessions or in a same communicationsession. The data and instructions can be obtained in entirety prior tothe execution of the applications. Alternatively, portions of the dataand instructions can be obtained dynamically, just in time, when neededfor execution. Thus, it is not required that the data and instructionsbe on a machine readable medium in entirety at a particular instance oftime.

Examples of computer-readable media include but are not limited torecordable and non-recordable type media such as volatile andnon-volatile memory devices, read only memory (ROM), random accessmemory (RAM), flash memory devices, floppy and other removable disks,magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media (e.g., Compact DiskRead-Only Memory (CD ROMS), Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs), etc.), amongothers. The computer-readable media may store the instructions.

In various embodiments, hardwired circuitry may be used in combinationwith software instructions to implement the techniques. Thus, thetechniques are neither limited to any specific combination of hardwarecircuitry and software nor to any particular source for the instructionsexecuted by the data processing system.

Although some of the drawings illustrate a number of operations in aparticular order, operations which are not order dependent may bereordered and other operations may be combined or broken out. While somereordering or other groupings are specifically mentioned, others will beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art and so do not present anexhaustive list of alternatives. Moreover, it should be recognized thatthe stages could be implemented in hardware, firmware, software or anycombination thereof.

For the sake of brevity, conventional data networking, applicationdevelopment and other functional aspects of the systems (and componentsof the individual operating components of the systems) may not bedescribed in detail herein. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown inthe various figures contained herein are intended to represent exemplaryfunctional relationships and/or physical couplings between the variouselements. It should be noted that many alternative or additionalfunctional relationships or physical connections may be present in apractical system.

The various system components discussed herein may include one or moreof the following: a host server or other computing systems including aprocessor for processing digital data; a memory coupled to the processorfor storing digital data; an input digitizer coupled to the processorfor inputting digital data; an application program stored in the memoryand accessible by the processor for directing processing of digital databy the processor; a display device coupled to the processor and memoryfor displaying information derived from digital data processed by theprocessor; and a plurality of databases. Various databases used hereinmay include: shipping data, package data, and/or any data useful in theoperation of the system.

Various functionality may be performed via a web browser and/orapplication interfacing utilizing a web browser. Such browserapplications may comprise Internet browsing software installed within acomputing unit or a system to perform various functions. These computingunits or systems may take the form of a computer or set of computers,and any type of computing device or systems may be used, includinglaptops, notebooks, tablets, hand held computers, personal digitalassistants, set-top boxes, workstations, computer-servers, main framecomputers, mini-computers, PC servers, network sets of computers,personal computers and tablet computers, such as iPads, iMACs, andMacBooks, kiosks, terminals, point of sale (POS) devices and/orterminals, televisions, or any other device capable of receiving dataover a network. Various embodiments may utilize Microsoft InternetExplorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Opera, or anyother of the myriad software packages available for browsing theinternet.

Various embodiments may operate in conjunction with any suitableoperating system (e.g., Windows NT, 95/98/2000/CE/Mobile/, Windows 7/8,OS2, UNIX, Linux, Solaris, MacOS, PalmOS, etc.) as well as variousconventional support software and drivers typically associated withcomputers. Various embodiments may include any suitable personalcomputer, network computer, workstation, personal digital assistant,cellular phone, smart phone, minicomputer, mainframe or the like.Embodiments may implement security protocols, such as Secure SocketsLayer (SSL), Transport Layer Security (TLS), and Secure Shell (SSH).Embodiments may implement any desired application layer protocol,including http, https, ftp, and sftp.

The various system components may be independently, separately orcollectively suitably coupled to a network via data links whichincludes, for example, a connection to an Internet Service Provider(ISP) over the local loop as is typically used in connection withstandard modem communication, cable modem, satellite networks, ISDN,Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or various wireless communicationmethods. It is noted that embodiments of the present disclosure mayoperate in conjunction with any suitable type of network, such as aninteractive television (ITV) network.

The system may be partially or fully implemented using cloud computing.“Cloud” or “Cloud computing” includes a model for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services)that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal managementeffort or service provider interaction. Cloud computing may includelocation-independent computing, whereby shared servers provideresources, software, and data to computers and other devices on demand.

Various embodiments may be used in conjunction with web services,utility computing, pervasive and individualized computing, security andidentity solutions, autonomic computing, cloud computing, commoditycomputing, mobility and wireless solutions, open source, biometrics,grid computing and/or mesh computing.

Any databases discussed herein may include relational, hierarchical,graphical, or object-oriented structure and/or any other databaseconfigurations. Moreover, the databases may be organized in any suitablemanner, for example, as data tables or lookup tables. Each record may bea single file, a series of files, a linked series of data fields or anyother data structure. Association of certain data may be accomplishedthrough any desired data association technique such as those known orpracticed in the art. For example, the association may be accomplishedeither manually or automatically.

Any databases, systems, devices, servers or other components of thesystem may be located at a single location or at multiple locations,wherein each database or system includes any of various suitablesecurity features, such as firewalls, access codes, encryption,decryption, compression, decompression, and/or the like.

Encryption may be performed by way of any of the techniques nowavailable in the art or which may become available—e.g., Twofish, RSA,El Gamal, Schorr signature, DSA, PGP, PKI, and symmetric and asymmetriccryptosystems.

Embodiments may connect to the Internet or an intranet using standarddial-up, cable, DSL or any other Internet protocol known in the art.Transactions may pass through a firewall in order to preventunauthorized access from users of other networks.

The computers discussed herein may provide a suitable website or otherInternet-based graphical user interface which is accessible by users.For example, the Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS), MicrosoftTransaction Server (MTS), and Microsoft SQL Server, may be used inconjunction with the Microsoft operating system, Microsoft NT web serversoftware, a Microsoft SQL Server database system, and a MicrosoftCommerce Server. Additionally, components such as Access or MicrosoftSQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, Informix MySQL, Interbase, etc., may be usedto provide an Active Data Object (ADO) compliant database managementsystem. In another example, an Apache web server can be used inconjunction with a Linux operating system, a MySQL database, and thePerl, PHP, and/or Python programming languages.

Any of the communications, inputs, storage, databases or displaysdiscussed herein may be facilitated through a website having web pages.The term “web page” as it is used herein is not meant to limit the typeof documents and applications that might be used to interact with theuser. For example, a typical website might include, in addition tostandard HTML documents, various forms, Java applets, JavaScript, activeserver pages (ASP), common gateway interface scripts (CGI), extensiblemarkup language (XML), dynamic HTML, cascading style sheets (CSS), AJAX(Asynchronous Javascript And XML), helper applications, plug-ins, andthe like. A server may include a web service that receives a requestfrom a web server, the request including a URL and an IP address. Theweb server retrieves the appropriate web pages and sends the data orapplications for the web pages to the IP address. Web services areapplications that are capable of interacting with other applicationsover a communications means, such as the Internet.

Various embodiments may employ any desired number of methods fordisplaying data within a browser-based document. For example, data maybe represented as standard text or within a fixed list, scrollable list,drop-down list, editable text field, fixed text field, pop-up window,and the like. Likewise, embodiments may utilize any desired number ofmethods for modifying data in a web page such as, for example, free textentry using a keyboard, selection of menu items, check boxes, optionboxes, and the like.

The exemplary systems and methods illustrated herein may be described interms of functional block components, screen shots, optional selectionsand various processing steps. It should be appreciated that suchfunctional blocks may be realized by any number of hardware and/orsoftware components configured to perform the specified functions. Forexample, the system may employ various integrated circuit components,e.g., memory elements, processing elements, logic elements, look-uptables, and the like, which may carry out a variety of functions underthe control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices.Similarly, the software elements of the system may be implemented withany programming or scripting language such as C, C++, C#, Java,JavaScript, VBScript, Macromedia Cold Fusion, COBOL, Microsoft ActiveServer Pages, assembly, PERL, PHP, AWK, Python, Visual Basic, SQL StoredProcedures, PL/SQL, any UNIX shell script, and extensible markuplanguage (XML) with the various algorithms being implemented with anycombination of data structures, objects, processes, routines or otherprogramming elements. Further, it should be noted that the system mayemploy any number of conventional techniques for data transmission,signaling, data processing, network control, and the like. Stillfurther, the system could be used to detect or prevent security issueswith a client-side scripting language, such as JavaScript, VBScript orthe like.

The systems and methods of the present disclosure may be embodied as acustomization of an existing system, an add-on product, a processingapparatus executing upgraded software, a stand alone system, adistributed system, a method, a data processing system, a device fordata processing, and/or a computer program product. Accordingly, anyportion of the system or a module may take the form of a processingapparatus executing code, an internet based embodiment, an entirelyhardware embodiment, or an embodiment combining aspects of the internet,software and hardware. Furthermore, the system may take the form of acomputer program product on a computer-readable storage medium havingcomputer-readable program code means embodied in the storage medium. Anysuitable computer-readable storage medium may be utilized, includinghard disks, CD-ROM, optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices,and/or the like.

The system and method is described herein with reference to screenshots, block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods, apparatus(e.g., systems), and computer program products according to variousembodiments. It will be understood that each functional block of theblock diagrams and the flowchart illustrations, and combinations offunctional blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations,respectively, can be implemented by computer program instructions.

These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructionsthat execute on the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus create means for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block or blocks. These computer program instructions may alsobe stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function specified in the flowchart block or blocks.The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block or blocks.

Accordingly, functional blocks of the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations support combinations of means for performing the specifiedfunctions, combinations of steps for performing the specified functions,and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. Itwill also be understood that each functional block of the block diagramsand flowchart illustrations, and combinations of functional blocks inthe block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, can be implemented byeither special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform thespecified functions or steps, or suitable combinations of specialpurpose hardware and computer instructions. Further, illustrations ofthe process flows and the descriptions thereof may make reference touser windows, webpages, websites, web forms, prompts, etc. Practitionerswill appreciate that the illustrated steps described herein may comprisein any number of configurations including the use of windows, webpages,web forms, popup windows, prompts and the like. It should be furtherappreciated that the multiple steps as illustrated and described may becombined into single webpages and/or windows but have been expanded forthe sake of simplicity. In other cases, steps illustrated and describedas single process steps may be separated into multiple webpages and/orwindows but have been combined for simplicity.

The term “non-transitory” is to be understood to remove only propagatingtransitory signals per se from the claim scope and does not relinquishrights to all standard computer-readable media that are not onlypropagating transitory signals per se. Stated another way, the meaningof the term “non-transitory computer-readable medium” should beconstrued to exclude only those types of transitory computer-readablemedia which were found in In Re Nuijten to fall outside the scope ofpatentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. §101.

Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have beendescribed herein with regard to specific embodiments. However, thebenefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any elements that maycause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become morepronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essentialfeatures or elements of the disclosure.

Although the disclosure includes a method, it is contemplated that itmay be embodied as computer program instructions on a tangiblecomputer-readable carrier, such as a magnetic or optical memory or amagnetic or optical disk. All structural, chemical, and functionalequivalents to the elements of the above-described exemplary embodimentsthat are known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expresslyincorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed bythe present claims. Moreover, it is not necessary for a device or methodto address each and every problem sought to be solved by the presentdisclosure, for it to be encompassed by the present claims. Furthermore,no element, component, or method step in the present disclosure isintended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether theelement, component, or method step is explicitly recited in the claims.No claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly recitedusing the phrase “means for.” As used herein, the terms “comprises”,“comprising”, or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover anon-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, orapparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only thoseelements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherentto such process, method, article, or apparatus.

Changes and modifications may be made to the disclosed embodimentswithout departing from the scope of the present invention. These andother changes or modifications are intended to be included within thescope of the present disclosure, as expressed in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising: basedon information received regarding a buyer that includes financialinformation for the buyer and one or more vehicle payment parameters,determining, by a computer system, a qualified vehicle payment amount;presenting, to the buyer, a list of a plurality of vehicles available tothe buyer within the qualified vehicle payment amount; in response toreceiving a quote request from the buyer on a selected vehicle from theplurality of vehicles, requesting, by the computer system, a quote onthe selected vehicle from a plurality of dealers; receiving, by thecomputer system, a plurality of quotes on the selected vehicle from aplurality of responding dealers based on the quote request; analyzing,by the computer system, terms from the received quotes; providing to thebuyer, by the computer system, a list of the received quotes in an orderbased on the terms in the received quotes.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the information regarding the buyer further includesidentification information for the buyer, and wherein the method furtherincludes verifying an identify of the buyer based on the identificationinformation.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the financial informationfor the buyer includes one or more of: income for the buyer; debt forthe buyer; and a credit score of the buyer.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the vehicle payment parameters include terms related to one ormore of: leasing a vehicle and purchasing a vehicle.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein the qualified vehicle payment amount includes one ormore of: a maximum monthly payment on a financed purchase of a vehicle;a maximum monthly payment on a lease of a vehicle; and a maximum totalpurchase price of a vehicle.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the listof the plurality of vehicles only includes vehicles satisfying the oneor more vehicle parameters.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein presentingthe list of the plurality of vehicles includes presenting vehicles thatare beyond the qualified vehicle payment amount in response to inputfrom the buyer.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the list ofthe plurality of vehicles includes presenting information for each of asubset of vehicles from plurality of vehicles in a single window on adisplay of a computing device viewed by the buyer.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein presenting the list of the plurality of vehicles to thebuyer is performed without identifying a dealer associated with any ofthe plurality of vehicles to the buyer.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein the quote request is performed without identifying the buyer toany of the plurality of dealers.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein theinformation regarding the buyer includes information regarding atrade-in vehicle associated with the buyer, and wherein the quoterequest includes at least a portion of the information regarding thetrade-in vehicle to the plurality of dealers.
 12. The method of claim 1,wherein the analysis of the terms from the plurality of quotes includesanalyzing one or more of: a percentage discount from a manufacturer'ssuggested retail price for the selected vehicle offered by the pluralityof dealers; a level of similarity between the selected vehicle andvehicles from the plurality of dealers; an availability of the selectedvehicle from the plurality of dealers; and a financial value associatedwith an offer from each of the dealers, the offer including one or moreof: a financed purchase of the selected vehicle, a lease of the selectedvehicle, and a cash purchase of the selected vehicle.
 13. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the computer system receives an acceptance of the termsof one of the plurality of quotes from the buyer.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the computer system provides a deal sheet to the buyerand the corresponding dealer that specifies the terms in the acceptedquote.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the deal sheet identifies thedealer associated with the selected vehicle.
 16. The method of claim 14,wherein the deal sheet identifies the buyer.
 17. The method of claim 16,further comprising charging the dealer associated with the acceptedquote a fee in conjunction with providing the deal sheet to the buyerand the dealer.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein the method furtherincludes sending a notification to the dealers associated with the otherquotes that their quotes were not accepted by the buyer, thenotification including information on how the other dealers' quotescompared to other quotes presented to the buyer.
 19. A non-transitory,computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by acomputer system, cause the computer system to: based on informationreceived regarding a buyer that includes financial information for thebuyer and one or more vehicle payment parameters, determine, by acomputer system, a qualified vehicle payment amount; present, to thebuyer, a list of a plurality of vehicles available to the buyer withinthe qualified vehicle payment amount; in response to receiving a quoterequest from the buyer on a selected vehicle from the plurality ofvehicles, request, by the computer system, a quote on the selectedvehicle from a plurality of dealers; receive, by the computer system, aplurality of quotes on the selected vehicle from a plurality ofresponding dealers based on the quote request; analyze, by the computersystem, terms from the received quotes; provide to the buyer, by thecomputer system, a list of the received quotes in an order based on theterms in the received quotes.
 20. A system comprising: at least oneprocessor; and memory in communication with the at least one processorand storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause thesystem to: based on information received for a buyer that includesfinancial information for the buyer and one or more vehicle paymentparameters, determine, by a computer system, a qualified vehicle paymentamount; present, to the buyer, a list of a plurality of vehiclesavailable to the buyer within the qualified vehicle payment amount; inresponse to receiving a quote request from the buyer on a selectedvehicle from the plurality of vehicles, request, by the computer system,a quote on the selected vehicle from a plurality of dealers; receive, bythe computer system, a plurality of quotes on the selected vehicle froma plurality of responding dealers based on the quote request; analyze,by the computer system, terms from the received quotes; provide to thebuyer, by the computer system, a list of the received quotes in an orderbased on the terms in the received quotes.